Jan
22The California State Board of Equalization (BOE or SBE) announced almost one year ago that medical marijuana dispensaries are not exempt from collecting and paying California sales tax. The announcement resulted from a hearing before the BOE involving Berkeley Patients Group. In that case the BOE decided that medical marijuana was not exempt from sales tax as a medicine. The decision was not surprising in light of a previous notice issued by the BOE that medical marijuana dispensaries were not exempt from collecting and paying sales tax.
Fast forward one year later. Our tax attorneys are fielding inquiries from a number of medical marijuana dispensaries who are undergoing sales tax audits by the BOE. The M.O. of the BOE seems to be to stand at a discrete location outside of the clinic, and count the number of people coming in the door per hour.
